Thursday, August 15, 2019

vocabulary - marry; get married



[i] Susan married Ed. (RHD)
[ii] My sister got married last fall. (COCA)




Is there a passive implication in [ii]? That is, the families and so on arrange and perform the marriage ceremonies for two people, and through all this the two get married. Is this implied in the expression [ii], and not in [i]?



Answer



In most modern countries, a wedding ceremony has two main elements: a couple 'actively' exchange vows (they marry, or one marries the other (your first sentence)), then 'passively' have a pronouncement made to them (and to their families, friends and community) by a representative of the state (they get married (your second sentence)).


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